The Drive-In
by TheBurningBagel
Summary: Molly wants to watch a Star Trek movie. Conflict happens.


The Drive-In

"Come on, boss!" Molly sounded frustrated. I didn't care, she'd just asked me to commit the highest form of treason.

"Listen to me, Molly." My voice reflected the gravity of the situation. "I've had to compromise my morales a lot over my years as a magical wrecking machine-"

She nodded, full of sagely wisdom, "Yet you've still retained your humility."

Going to choose to ignore that, "But there are two things that I will never betray - my fashion sense," I gestured to my duster. "And my loyalty to the greatest film trilogy available to mortal men."

Molly raised an eyebrow, "There are six Star Wars movies, boss."

I gave her the look I use when facing down monsters "The White Council gives teachers the right to physically discipline their students Moll..."

She waggled her eyebrows at me, "Gonna spank me?" She grinned and waited for the reaction.

I didn't even blink.

Her grin faded and her eyes slowly widened, she put her hands up in a placating gesture. "Jesus, sorry. Three films. Three lightsaber colors. One Fett."

"Hallowed be his name."

"I don't get your stupid fanboy loyalty," She said with an eye-roll and a contemptuous flip of her multicolored hair. "You can like Mozart AND

Beethoven."

"I don't know what either of those things are."

"I watched Star Wars with you! All three original movies in one damn sitting!"

I crossed my arms and stomped my feet like a little boy.

She sighed dramatically, trying to hide her smile. I was having a hard time keeping myself from grinning.

It felt good, just talking to

Molly and I spent less time together than we had in the past, and when we did hang out; ('Hang out', listen to me using newfangled terms. And some people call me old fashioned. Whatevs.) it was mostly for academic reasons. Molly would be graduating from her apprenticeship soon, and the test was literal life or death.

For both of us.

She was a bit stressed.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a hand on my arm. Molly's smile had turned bitter. "Come on, Harry, we haven't done anything together in such a long time. I miss spending time with you."

'Aaaaand we've reached the end of wizard Dresden's resolve, please exit through the gift shop' I sighed, but I realized that maybe, just maybe, the girl I'd apprenticed and befriended and trained was more important than Star Wars.

"Okay, grasshopper." It came out embarrassingly tender, and were I with anyone else, I would've felt naked. "Lets go crush my childhood."

Her arms were around me quick as lightning, I returned the gesture and we stood like that for a while. Her face on my chest and my chin on her head. After a maybe inappropriate amount of time her head shot up and she smiled at me in a way that made me remember a time when she was just a girl, before she was traumatised and forced to become a warrior.

"It'll be fun, I promise." She went back to hugging me.

We went to the drive-in after dark, and sat on the hood of my ancient car. The parking lot was, as always, filled with rowdy teenagers and couples that were getting a bit too... excited. But I loved the place, drive-ins never left the seventies, for a guy that was universally hated by all things Steve Jobsy it was a welcome retreat.

And I was in good company.

Molly was pressed against my side, ("You wouldn't make a girl sit in the cold, would you Harry?) munching popcorn and babbling excitedly to me, trying to condense forty years of non-consecutive history into the quarter hour we had until the movie started.

"Calm down, Molly." I tried to be grim but couldn't keep the smile out of my voice. "My heart can only handle so much heresy."  
She laughed and threw popcorn at me. "I just don't want you to be confused. Well, I don't want you to be as confused as you normally are."  
Well I never.

I was about to say that everyone was occasionally confused by the drink machines at McDonalds, and anyone who said different was either lying or was some kind of hyper-intelligent mutant-But I was interrupted by a round of hushed whispers, and the not at all unpleasant feeling of molly pressing herself even closer to me.

"It's starting." She whispered, her voice wavering with excitement.

"Nerd." I whispered right back.

She smirked and jabbed me in the side. "Shut up," She gestured grandly towards the screen. "And behold the crowning achievement of the human race."

"Harry.."

"I'm driving Molls, gotta focus."

Molly was looking at me with a cheshire grin, "You're stalling is what you're doing."

I sputtered.

"I'm being a responsible and safe driver! Think of the pedestrians, Molly!"

"You-" She poked the side of my face. "Liked the movie."

I pointedly ignored her.

"Allow me to re-iterate, you liked a Star Trek movie." She shook her head, as if ashamed. "What would Harrison Ford say if he could see you now?"

I laughed in spite of myself, and she somehow looked even more triumphant. She gloated until we reached Casta de Carpenter. I stopped the Beetle in the driveway.

"It didn't suck." I admitted. "I had fun. Good company."

Molly suddenly looked away, her smile had turned shy. So she threw some of her leftover popcorn at me.

I caught it in my mouth.

She laughed.

All was well.

"I really did have fun, we should spend more time together," I spoke around a mouth full of popcorn because I'm a dreamboat. "Just the two of us."  
She looked so cautious and happy and hopeful that my chest hurt. Slowly, like a rabbit ready to bolt, she reached for my hand. I met her halfway.

"I'd like that."

Wow, it got really sope opera in hear really fast. Quick! Joke! "Just no more Star Trek, alright? Let's do something else, anything else." I reached for another handful of popcorn and tossed it into my mouth. Easy smile, and charming words. So smooth!

"Well," Molly said with a predatory smirk, "If you still wanna spank me-"

I choked on popcorn.

Fin


End file.
